Girls Who Code, now in its second year nationally, aims to inspire young women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

Inspiring girls in technology

Twenty high school girls are getting a hands-on education in computer programming at UC Davis this summer through the Girls Who Code 2013 Summer Immersion Program, run in partnership with Intel Corp.

Now in its second year — and its first year at UC Davis — Girls Who Code is a national organization working to educate, equip and inspire 15-17-year-old girls with the skills and resources to pursue academic and career opportunities in computing.

"Girls Who Code was founded because we believe that female engineers, entrepreneurs and innovators are our future. The Intel Summer Immersion Program is an important part of our movement to change the face of technology in America," said founder Reshma Saujani.

UC Davis is the first university to be a Girls Who Code program site, according to Ray Rodriguez, professor of molecular and cellular biology and director of the Global HealthShare Initiative at UC Davis, who brought the program to campus. The initiative is working on a similar program in collaboration with an agricultural college in India.

Participants in the Summer Immersion Program get eight weeks of intensive instruction and practical experience in computing concepts, programming fundamentals, mobile phone development, robotics, and web development and design.

They are also taking field trips, including a recent visit to Intel's headquarters in San Francisco and a meeting with CEO Brian Krzanich.

The program began June 24 and will run through Aug. 16. It is funded by the Intel Foundation and Intel Corp.

Other Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Programs are being run in New York, San Jose, Detroit and San Francisco in partnership with AT&T, Cornell Tech, eBay, GE, Goldman Sachs, IAC, the Knight Foundation and Twitter. The Summer Immersion Program pairs classroom instruction with talks, demos and workshops led by inspiring female entrepreneurs, CEOs, developers, designers and computer science majors that serve as mentors and role models throughout the program.

On the home page: Benite Rutaganira and Diana Gonzalez, both of Woodland, Calif., work on controlling a robot with a computer program. Karin Higgins/UC Davis photos